A $10 million donation from Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch will launch the renovation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s Costume Institute and fund the creation of a 4,200-square-foot gallery for the collection, which tripled in size with the 2009 addition of the Brooklyn Museum’s sartorial stash. “Truly transformative” is how Museum director Thomas P. Campbell described the Tisches’ gift, announced this week. “The Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery is designed as a distinctly flexible space, so the possibilities for creative interpretations of the collection are unlimited,” he said in a statement. The new gallery will allow museums visitors to view pieces from the Costume Institute for most of the year, not just during the spring-to-summer run of the annual exhibition (which this year will celebrate the work of Alexander McQueen). It will host rotating installations examining fashion through conceptual approaches and connoisseurship. The renovation, which will begin next year, will also include a new costume conservation center and an expanded study and storage facility. And when it comes to exhibition design, Harold Koda is thinking outside the box. “The current galleries with their fixed vitrines and established flow will be transformed into a space that maximizes the ability of the Museum to present its costume holdings in new and varied ways,” says the Costume Institute curator. “A range of visual effects will also be employed to underscore the conceptual and narrative intentions of the changing exhibitions installed in this space.”

Subscribe to Adweek

Featured Courses

Storytelling for Media ProfessionalsUse smart storytelling to build your brandLearn more >Digital Media Planning and BuyingBuild the foundation for successful media planning in a constantly evolving marketLearn more >Develop a Freelance Writing CareerBuild a thriving career as a freelancerLearn more >Digital Editorial ProductionMaster content management systems and the user experienceLearn more >See more Courses >